Has anyone experienced exacerbated anxiety once Concerta/methylphenidate has worn off? This is a very recent issue for me - for 5 months, I used to just get the "normal" crash: irritability, tiredness, worsened ADHD symptoms, sleepiness.

Ever since a surgery I had a month-and-a-half ago, my Concerta crash has been really different. I've had 3 panic attacks, all after Concerta wore off. I also get really bad anxiety and this "vibrating" sensation after it wears off and moderate anxiety when it's in effect (I used to only have mild social anxiety at the most). I have high heart rate, dizziness, and palpitations after I take Concerta (over 100bpm, my normal rate is 70-80, and before, it may have risen to about 90 on Concerta), and I sometimes notice chest pains. I've already gone to the ER for this - I had a panic attack in the waiting room when Concerta wore off, and the EEG showed it wasn't a heart attack. Since I wasn't on Concerta when the ER docs saw me, they couldn't find anything..

I've tried taking an IR Ritalin and still have the same issues, even with a low dose (<10 mg). For the past 3 months, my Concerta dose has been 27mg 2x a day, but I used to be able to take 3 at once with no issues (I know that's bad, but my psychiatrist is inept and wouldn't raise my dose even though it wasn't helping enough).

I find it hard to believe I suddenly became sensitive to Concerta without a good reason. My anxiety is fine if I don't take it. I was prescribed Clonidine, but it lowered my bp too much and didn't help with the physical anxiety symptoms, so I stopped taking it (no rebound effect). I'm just wondering if anyone has any idea as to what's going on. I don't want to see my psychiatrist only to be labelled a hypochondriac and have antidepressants thrown at me (I refuse to take SSRIs or Strattera - they give me unpleasant sexual side effects). I feel like the source of the problem is somatic and not psychological, but I can't prove my theory (which, if you're curious, is that the antibiotic I was discharged with, Ciprofloxacin, inflicted neurotoxic damage [I had to stop taking it because I went 80+hrs without a wink of sleep on it, along with other severe side effects!]).

After a couple months on Concerta, I did notice an increase in panic attacks, but since it's a normal side effect, I didn't worry too much about it until I couldn't mentally calm myself down. I was put on Zoloft and it's helped SO much! The mental clarity, for me anyway, is amazing.

I really don't want to take an antidepressant.. I feel like that would just address the symptoms and not the cause, anyway. When I don't take Concerta I feel fine, aside from the brain fog and fatigue. I can drink a venti coffee from Starbucks without any anxiety, so obviously something's going on with the ingredients in Concerta. I've started taking piracetam and it seems to be helping more than Concerta ever did for my concentration issues. I guess I'll just have to see which medicine my psych decides to push at me this time. My money's on Wellbutrin (again).

Well I think I inadvertently figured my situation out. I've been having unexpectedly amazing results with piracetam - far beyond my expectations. The most accurate way I can describe how I feel after starting piracetam is that I feel like I did 3 or 4 years ago, before my cognitive issues became apparent. In fact, I don't think I ever really had ADHD - I think I had a stroke, and my issues with concentration, frequent "tip-of-the-tongue" instances, and easy distractibility were a result of it. Piracetam is used in stroke victims to reverse cognitive damage, and even though I didn't know this beforehand, everything suddenly clicked after a while - I had "the worst headache of my life" before my grades started slipping! I used to be brilliant and I had a razor-sharp sarcastic wit; now, I'm starting to get my brilliance back. I don't suggest piracetam is a miracle cure, but if anyone had a very painful headache that never recurred, you might want to give it a try. I have no desire to take Concerta anymore!

As far as my reactions to Concerta go, I realized they were a result of the gluten in the medicine. I've noticed gastrointestinal symptoms lately that always worsen after consumption of gluten, so I've decided I either developed a gluten intolerance or I have Celiac Disease. I had been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis 6 years ago, so I'm crossing my fingers that a gluten-free diet will solve all my problems and "undiagnose" my UC! For those with a suspected gluten intolerance, don't believe everything you read online about which medicines are really gluten-free. I've read conflicting data on Concerta and Ritalin containing gluten, but my body definitely confirms the presence of gluten through its negative reaction. Concerta is especially unpleasant, since it keeps releasing gluten for so long - by the time the effects wear off, the immune system has inflicted considerable damage to the intestines.

I literally feel as if a fog has finally cleared from my life. I recommend people consider the possibility of a gluten intolerance or silent stroke causing their symptoms, especially those without prominent childhood symptoms. I had convinced myself and my family I had ADHD because I didn't want to believe that I was just "stupid, lazy, and/or crazy." And I'm not - but ADHD wasn't the instigator. If you're not experiencing effective relief of your symptoms (I never did on Concerta, Ritalin, Strattera, Wellbutrin, or "borrowed" Adderall XR), there might be a hidden cause.

Anyway, that's the end of my little spiel. Thanks for all the information I gleaned from these forums during my days of lurking, and good luck to you all!

And remember to:
-> Get enough sleep (around 10+) 10+ if you can... around 8 is mimn
-> Eat healthy food (don't eat junk food,fast food,etc
-> Drink more water
-> Why are you getting the panic attacks really?, think back... when do you get them?, not only in panic places but if your at home and whatself and you think about something in the past that happened and then you get a panic attack,etc..